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Patented Nov. 8, |898. W. K. KIGHT.

CAR COUPLING.

cation l'ed Aug. 5, 1898) HIUIIIIW I% Uli inim'nmmm lill Nrrn STATES ATnNr rricn.

VILLIAM K. KIGHT, OF POPLAR BLUFF, MISSOURI, ASSIGNOR'OF ONE-HALF TO HORACE D. WILLIAMS, OF SAME PLACE.

CAR-COUPLING.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 613,768, dated November 8, 1898.

Application filed August 5, 1898.

T @ZZ whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM K. KIGHT, a citizen of the United States, residing in the city of Poplar Bluff, county of Butler, State of Missouri, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Oar-Couplers,of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification, in whichl Figure lis a top plan View of my improved car-coupler. Fig. 2 is avertical sectional view on line 2 2, Fig. l. Fig. 3 is a similar view killustrating' the moving parts in a different position. Fig. 4: is a side elevational View of my improved car-coupler; and Fig. 5 is a detail sectional view on line 5 5, Fig. 1.

This invention relates to a new and useful improvement in car-couplers, and particularly to that class known as twin-jaw or Janney type of couplers, wherein a pin or bolt is provided to hold the knuckle portion of the coupler in a locked position.

The objects of this present invention are to construct asimple, cheap, and effective coupler provided with means for holding the lockpin in a raised position ready for coupling 3o and to provide means cooperating with the lock-pin for throwing the inner end of the knuckle in the proper direction to place the coupler, after being uncoupled, in a position to be automatically coupled when contacting with the knuckle of the coupler of another car. f

The essential features of this invention reside, first, in the novel construction of the slide-bar for holding the lock-pin in a raised 4o position; second, in the novel construction of the rock-shaft, which is provided with suitable arms, one of which cooperates with a slot or groove in the upper end of the lock-pin, while the other cooperates with the inner end of the knuckle, whereby when the lock-pin is raised the inner end of the knuckle is forced to a proper position to be automatically coupled; and, iinally, the invention consists in the novel construction, arrangement, and combination of the several parts, all as 'in the coupler-head A, preferably by passing Serial No. 687,850. (No model.)

vin thev claims.

In the drawings, A indicates the main member or head of the coupler proper, preferably formed of a metallic casting.

B indicates the knuckle, also preferably a casting, which knuckle is pivoted to the coup'- ler-head A by a bolt or pin b..

C indicates the lock-pin, which is positioned through a suitable opening@ in the upper face of the same and through a hollow space provided within said coupler-head, and when in a locked position said pin is supported by the bottom wall of the coupler-head.

The knuckle B is substantially a bell-crank lever-that is, it is provided with two arms or members b and b", the former, called the nosej when in a looked position coperating with a similar nose or member of a coupler of another car when said cars are coupled together and by Which one car is enabled to draw the other, as is well understood. The other arm or member b, called the tail,77 is designed to be retained behind the lockpin to hold the nose bin its coupled position.

All the parts before mentioned are substantially of old and `well-known construction, and further description of the same is deemed unnecessary.

D indicates what I have termed a slidebar, preferably placed to one side of the lock-pin C and preferably arranged to slide vin an inclined opening c', formed in the upper side of the casting A, and when the coupler is in a locked position, as seen in Fig. 2, the lower end of said slide-bar rests upon the upper face of the tail b of the knuckle andis out of alinement with the lockpin. Upon the inner face of this slide-bar D, and preferably near its lower end, is` formed a notch d, designed to receive the nearest lower edge of the lock-pin and retain the same when said lock-pin is raised, permitting the tail b" of the knuckle to be drawn from beneath the same, as is clearly illustrated in Figs. 3 and 5. When it is desiredto uncouple, the tail b moves from beneath the slide-bar and said bar will of its weight slide downwardly until the notch d in the lower end roo thereol` is brought into alinement with the nearest lower edge of the loek-pin and in which lower position said slide-block is arrested in its downward movement by suitable projections (Z,tormed on the uppermost edges ot' said slide-bar, which contact with suitable faces formed on each side of the upper edges of the opening af, through which the slidebar passes.

Upon the Lipper face of the coupler A and on opposite sides of the opening (t are arranged lugs a am, their inner faces being of greater distance apart than the width of said opening a', thereby forming a llat face on each side ot' said opening, which ilat face is somewhat below the upper face of said lugs and is the `face before referred to upon which the lugs CZ' of the slide-bar D rest when said bar is in its downward position, and when said slide-bar D is in position its upper end is below the surface ol;` said lugs, which, together with the portion et' metal which connects their inner ends, forms a housing lor the same, thereby protecting said upper end of said slide-bar.

Positioned in the lugs a and of" is a rock-` shaft E, one end of which is provided with means for preventing lateral movement of the same, and the otherend of said rockshaft is formed with a memberapproximately at right angles thereto. This member l shall designate hereinafter by reference to its arms e and e'. The arm e, starting, we will say, from the rockshaft proper and extending inwardly and upwardly at its inner end, is pro vided with a bent portion c, parallel to said rock-shaft, which bent portion enters and cooperates with a groove or slot c in the upper portion of the lock-pin C. rThe arm e starts from the rock-shaft and bent downwardly outside the coupler, but su'liicientlyfar away when the coupler is in a locked position to enable the same to be moved inwardly some distance, as will be hereinafter explained, said arm e being formed at its free end with an inwardly-extending portion c, which passes through an opening am in the side of the coupler. This end e" when the coupler is in a locked position rests upon the side of the arm o of the knuckle, and when the lock -pin is raised by any suitable means the arm c, carrying the portion c", coperating with the slot c, rocks the shaft E, which forces the arm e', carrying the inwardly-ex.- tending portion 0"', toward the coupler. This action causes the end of the inwardly-extending portion e'" to contact with the arm b and place under tension a spring em', forming a part of arm 0', and when the lock-pin clears the tail b" said spring will force the knuckle outwardly in an open or coupling position. This movement of the coupler is automatic with respect to the withdrawing of the lockpin, and when said lock-pin` is thus raised the slide-belt D falls inte its proper position to support the same, as before described.

It will be understood by referring to Figs.

2, 3, and 5 that when the knuckle is rocked to its coupled position the tail h will pass under the lock-pin and cooperate with the lower end oi the slide-bolt, raising the same sufieiently far to be out of the path of the lock-pin, whereupon a continued movement of said arm b will clear the end of saidlockpin, allowing the same to descend by gravity to a locked or coupled position in front of the tail Z2.

The rock-shaft E, aside from its function already described, answers as a guard to prevent the slide-bolt D from being accidentally displaced, as it is directly in the path of the saine in its upward movement. Preferably the upper end oli' said slide-bar is formed with a concavity to insure a full and complete movement of the same in an upward direction, as is obvious.

l am aware that minor changes in the construction, arrangement, and combination of the several parts of my coupler can be made and substituted for those herein shown and described without in the least departing from the nature and principle of my invention.

llavin g thus described my invention, what l claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

l. In a car-eoupler ol the .lanney type, the combination with a coupler-head, of a knuckle pivoted thereto, a lock-pin cooperating with the tail oi' said knuckle for retaining the saine in a coupled position, and a slide-bar so arranged and positioned as to support said lockpin in a coupling position, said slide-bolt being also so located as to be forced from its supporting position when the tail of the knuckle is moved in the proper direction for coupling, thereby permitting said pin to assume its coupled position, substantially as described.

2. In a carcoupler of the Janney type, the combination with a coupler-head, of a knuckle pivoted thereto, a lock-pin cooperating with the tail of said knuckle for retaining the same in a coupled position, anda slide-bar operating in a suitable openin g in the coupler-head and arranged obliquely to the path of said lock-pin, whereby, when in a coupling position, it will be in such a position as to support the loelopin by receiving the same in a notch formed in the lower end of said slide-bar, said slide-barbeing also provided with flanges for limiting its inward movement, substantially as described.

3. ln a car-coupler of the Janne-y type, the combination with the knuckle and its lockpin, of an eXternally-arranged lever pivoted to one side et said lock-pin, one arm of said lever engaging a slot er groeve in the upper end of the lock-pin, and the other arm of Said lever engaging the knuckle to force the same outwardly whenever the lock-pin is raised. to release said knuckle, substantially as described.

et. In a carcoupler of the .lanney type, the combination with the knuckle and its lockpin, of an externally-arranged lever which is IOO IIO

operated by a slot or groove in the upper end of the lock-pin to force the knuckle outwardly whenever the lock-pin is raised to release said knuckle, and a spring in which energy is stored by the movement of the lock-pin in clearing the knuckle, said energy being` eX- erted upon the knuckle when said knuckle is free to move, substantially as described.

5. In a car-coupler of the Janney type, the combination with a coupler-head, of a knuckle pivoted thereto, a lock-pin cooperating with the tail of said knuckle for retaining the same in a locked position, an inclined slidebar for suspending said lock-pin in an u pward posi-tion when said knuckle is released by the same, and an externally-arranged lever for coperating with a slot or groove in the upper end of said lock-pin and the tail of the knuckle, whereby when the lock-pin is raised, the knuckle will be forced to a position ready to be automatically coupled by contacting with a suitable counterpart, substantially as described.

6. In a car-coupler of the Janney type, the combination with a coupler-head, of a knuckle pivoted thereto, a lock-pin coperating with the tail of said knuckle for holding the same in a locked position, a slide-bar, said slide-bar being so positioned and arranged as to support the lock-pin whenthe same is in a coupling position and to be raised or forced from its supporting position by the inward movement of the tail of the knuckle, and means for cooperating with the lock-pinV and the tail of said knuckle, whereby, the movement of the knuckle is automatic with respect to the said lock-pin, when the coupler is uncoupled, substantially as described.

7. In a car-coupler of the .Ianney type, the combination with a coupler-head, of a knuckle pivoted thereto, a lock-pin cooperating with the tail of said knuckle for holding the same in a locked position, a slide-bar, said slide-bar being so positioned and arranged as to support the lock-pin when the same is in a coupling position and to be raised or forced from its supporting position by the inward movement of the tail of the knuckle, and a i rock-shaft, one end of said rock-shaft being provided with a member forming the arms c and e', said arm e cooperating with a slot c in the lock-pin, while the other arm c operates upon the tail of the knuckle, said lastmentionedarm c being provided with a spring portion e"", whereby, when the lock-pin is raised, the rock-shaft causes the arm c to be forced inwardly against the tension of said spring portion 6, which exerts its power upon the tail of the knuckle, and after the lock-pin has released said knuckle,said spring portion will force the knuckle to a coupling position, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof Ihereunto aflix my signature, in the presence of two witnesses, this 25th day of July, 1898.

VILLIAM K. KIGHT.

W`itnesses:

H. D. WILLIAMS, RAY D. FOLEY. 

